Tokyo, Feb. 10 (Jiji Press)—The Japanese government at a cabinet meeting on Friday adopted a bill to set up reconstruction footholds in the no-go zone heavily contaminated by the March 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture.

The bill would give priority to decontamination work and infrastructure development at the footholds, with costs shouldered by the central government. The government aims to lift evacuation orders in the footholds within around five years.

So far, decontamination expenses have been covered by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., to take responsibility for the triple reactor meltdowns at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

But the footholds will be an exception, to highlight the government’s initiatives for the reconstruction of damaged areas. Opposition parties may oppose this measure, however, as it could be viewed as a remedial action for TEPCO.

The bill to revise the Act on Special Measures for the Reconstruction and Revitalization of Fukushima also calls for the central government to support municipalities that host children evacuated from the Fukushima accident to prevent them being bullied.